Addiction, mental illness complicate help for the homelessEVERETT, Wash. — This is the lesson that the working-class city of Everett has learned: It takes a community to rescue the hardcore homeless. It takes teams of outreach workers — building relationships with men and women struggling with addiction or untreated mental illness, prodding them to get help. It takes police and other agencies, working together to provide for their needs. Everett, hard-hit by the opioid epidemic, is trying an array of...

Fed rate increase is 3rd this year; foresees 3 more in 2018WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is raising its key interest rate for the third time this year and foresees three additional hikes in 2018, a vote of confidence that the U.S. economy remains on solid footing 8½ years after the end of the Great Recession. The Fed said Wednesday that it's lifting its short-term rate by a modest quarter-point to a still-low range of 1.25 percent to 1.5 percent. It is also continuing to slowly shrink its bond port...

Subway bombing suspect faces charges from his hospital bedNEW YORK — A Bangladeshi immigrant accused of setting off a pipe bomb in the New York subway system had his first court appearance on Wednesday via video from the hospital room where he is recovering from burns sustained in the blast. Akayed Ullah said little during the hearing, which lasted a little over 10 minutes. He could be seen on the video lying on a hospital bed with his head propped up on a pillow and his body covered up to his neck i...

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By COLLEEN LONG and LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated PressAssociated Press

Monkey selfies, eclipse, bitcoin, Lauer top Google in 2017SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Lauer. Bitcoin. DACA. Monkey selfies. Jeremy Lin's hair. Do-it-yourself eclipse glasses. Tom Petty's death. National anthem protests in the NFL. And "Cash Me Outside." These were some of the people, topics and memes that trended to the top of Google searches in 2017. The search terms reflected the United States in upheaval over sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men, reeling from the tumultuous presidency of Do...

Some of Facebook's early friends now its sharpest criticsNEW YORK — Some of Facebook's former friends are starting to express some serious doubts about the social network they helped create. Facebook exploits a "vulnerability in human psychology" to addict its users, Sean Parker, the company's first president, said in a public forum last month. Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook vice president who joined the company in 2007, recently told an audience at Stanford that the company is "ripping apa...

Female workers sue McCormick & Schmick's over lewd behaviorBOSTON — Female kitchen workers at the McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant in downtown Boston were subjected to constant groping and lewd comments from male supervisors and co-workers, and their complaints to the company were routinely ignored, five women said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The lawsuit highlights the abuse and harassment women in low-wage hospitality positions routinely face, even as allegations of sexual misconduct roil whi...

Anti-Trump climate grant winners namedPARIS -- Eighteen climate scientists from the U.S. and elsewhere hit the jackpot Monday as French President Emmanuel Macron awarded them millions of euros in grants to relocate to France for the rest of Donald Trump's presidential term. The "Make Our Planet Great Again" grants -- a nod to Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan -- are part of Macron's efforts to counter Trump on the climate change front. Macron announced a contest f...

Reed, reporter who covered civil rights movement, diesFAYETTEVILLE -- Roy Reed, who covered key events during the civil rights movement for The New York Times before returning to his native Arkansas to write and teach, has died. He was 87. Reed died Sunday night at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, according to his wife, Norma Reed. He had a severe stroke on Saturday at his home in the nearby unincorporated community of Hogeye. After stints at the Joplin Globe in Missouri and th...

Pipe bomb explodes in NYC subway; suspect hurtNEW YORK -- A man inspired by Islamic State extremists strapped on a crude pipe bomb, slipped unnoticed into the nation's busiest subway system and set the device off at rush hour Monday in a scenario that New York has dreaded for years, authorities said. In the end, the only serious wounds were to the suspect, Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant and former cab driver, authorities said. But the attack sent terrified commuters fle...

State Senator set to run for Conyer's seatDETROIT -- The son of Detroit's first black mayor is running to replace longtime U.S. Rep. John Conyers. Democratic state Sen. Coleman Young II announced his bid Monday to replace the 88-year-old Conyers, who was facing sexual harassment allegations when he resigned from Congress last week. Conyers cited health reasons for his decision. Conyers has endorsed his son, John Conyers III, to succeed him in the Detroit-area congressional seat he's h...

Fed planning to raise ratesWASHINGTON -- Investors seem certain about this: The Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates this week for the third time this year. They're less sure about what the central bank might have in store for 2018, and they will look to Janet Yellen's final news conference as Fed chair Wednesday for any clues. Will the Fed's policymaking change once Yellen steps down in February and is succeeded by Jerome Powell? Powell was a Yellen ally wh...

Workplaces on edge amid flurry of scandalsNEW YORK -- Some women, and men, worry the same climate that's emboldening women to speak up about sexual misconduct could backfire by making some men wary of female colleagues. Forget private meetings and get-to-know-you dinners. Beware of banter. Think twice before a high-ranking man mentors a young female staffer. "I have already heard the rumblings of a backlash: 'This is why you shouldn't hire women,'" Facebook chief operating officer She...

Politics worrying scientistsSTOCKHOLM -- An American scientist who shared this year's Nobel Prize for medicine bluntly criticized political developments at home in his address at the awards' gala banquet, saying that U.S. scientists are facing funding cutbacks that will hurt research. Michael Rosbash, who was honored for his work on circadian rhythms -- commonly called the body clock -- expressed concern that U.S. government funding such as that received by him and Nobel...

Liz Weston: Refusing to pay could hurt you more than themOh, the injustice of it all. Who among us hasn't felt abused as a consumer? We get billed for stuff we didn't receive, or that doesn't work, or that didn't live up to its hype. Companies charge us unexpected fees and insist the costs were revealed in the fine print. Health insurers take customer disservice to a whole new, awful level, inexplicably refusing to pay for services they promised to cover and deluging us with impossible-to-decrypt pa...

Bugs reported in health law's deadline weekWASHINGTON -- Consumer advocates reported some glitches Monday in the final days for "Obamacare" sign-ups, although the Trump administration largely seemed to be keeping its promise of a smooth enrollment experience. In Illinois, some consumers who successfully completed an application for financial assistance through HealthCare.gov got a message saying they would likely be eligible to buy a health plan, "but none are available to you in your ...

GOP still pushing on taxesWASHINGTON -- Start the countdown clock on a momentous two weeks for President Donald Trump and the GOP-run Congress. Republicans are determined to deliver the first revamp of the nation's tax code in three decades and prove they can govern after their failure to dismantle Barack Obama's health care law this past summer. Voters who will decide which party holds the majority in next year's midterms elections are watching. Republicans are negoti...

Price hikes push health insurance shoppers into difficult decisionsMargaret Leatherwood has eight choices for health insurance next year but no good options. The cheapest individual coverage available in her market would eat up nearly a quarter of the income her husband brings home from the oilfields. The Bryson, Texas, couple makes too much to qualify for Affordable Care Act tax credits that help people buy coverage. But they don't make enough to comfortably afford insurance on their own, even though Paul Le...

U.S. flu season off to early startNEW YORK -- This year's flu season is off to a quick start and so far it seems to be dominated by a nasty bug. Health officials say the flu vaccine seems well matched to the viruses making people sick, but it's too early to tell how bad this season will be. The main flu bug this season tends to cause more deaths and hospitalizations and vaccines tend not to work as well against this type. Flu began picking up last month. About two weeks ago, s...

AP Interview: GOP senator faults China on North KoreaWASHINGTON — China is more of an adversary than an ally on North Korea, according to a leading Republican senator and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who declared during a wide-ranging interview Thursday that Pyongyang's push for an atomic arsenal actually benefits Beijing. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas told The Associated Press the U.S. should expand its military presence on and around the Korean Peninsula to pressure China into bei...

Franken's support collapses, fellow Dems expect resignationWASHINGTON — His once-promising political career in shambles, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken appeared on the verge of resigning after fellow Democrats led by female senators abandoned him Wednesday over the mounting allegations of sexual misconduct that are roiling Capitol Hill. But his departure was not certain. A tweet from his Twitter account late Wednesday said no final decision had been made and he was still talking with his family. A majority...